Guiding sheaths are well known for use in facilitating pathway for a treatment or diagnostic catheter. Catheterization of the human heart often necessitates having a catheter gain access to the heart chambers, via a femoral vein and the aorta. To provide variation in movement, guiding sheaths (much like the catheters that are passed through the guiding sheaths) may be steerable or deflectable with the use of one or more puller wires for improved maneuverability in the patient's vasculature.
Accordingly, there is a desire for a guiding sheath with improved deflection characteristics and smoother operation in deflection mechanisms of the control handle.